Multiple arrests made; several people and two minors rescued in sex trafficking sting

RIVERSIDE – Two minors were rescued and several people were arrested in a two-night sting against sex trafficking in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the FBI announced today.

A task force that included local law enforcement agencies conducted the operation last Thursday and Friday in Riverside, Hemet and Ontario.

In addition to the rescue of the minors — whose gender, ages and cities weren’t released — there were multiple arrests involving pandering, pimping, prostitution and human trafficking, according to Bill Lewis, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.

The suspects’ cases will be submitted to the Riverside and San Bernardino county district attorney’s offices, according to the FBI.

The sting was organized by the Inland Empire Child Exploitation and Prostitution Task Force, which includes the Ontario, Pomona, San Bernardino and Riverside police departments, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. The Riverside County Anti Human Trafficking Task Force and the Hemet, Upland and Chino police departments also participated.

The Inland Empire Child Exploitation and Prostitution Task Force investigates child exploitation, mainly sexual trafficking of minors. The task force is part of the FBI’s National Innocence Lost Initiative, which started in 2003 to address criminal enterprises involved in the domestic sex trafficking of children.